Midway Europe management buyout complete
Purchase of European arm of the bankrupt publisher by exec VP is finalised
A management buyout deal which sees Midway's European offices saved following the bankruptcy of its parent company was today completed.
Purchase of Midway Games' UK and French offices by Spiess Media Holding has now been completed- a company owned by Martin Spiess, Midway's international executive vice president.
In addition, the German office of the Midway Group was bought by F & F Publishing, a company owned by Uwe Fürstenberg, general manager of Midway, and Hans Meyer, the company's finance director.
The transactions will secure the European publishing and distribution branches of Midway in these three key markets, although details of what will happen to the development studios associated to these regions are yet to be confirmed
Both Spiess and Fürstenberg plan to lead their newly acquired companies as interactive entertainment distribution and publishing service providers.
"We are very pleased that the European management team has come together to purchase Midway’s European organisation," said Matthew Booty, chairman, CEO and president of the US-based Midway Games Inc, now operating under Warner Bros.
"Our European publishing and distribution business had consistently grown year-on-year under the leadership of Martin Spiess. These European operations are comprised of a strong network of developers and publishers from around the globe and are based around an excellent team that has proven its expertise and know-how in game production."
"The European branch of Midway had been a significant contributor to the worldwide Midway organisation. Most recently, the European arm had contributed almost 40 per cent of Midway's worldwide revenues," added Spiess.
"We very much look forward to the challenge of participating in the growing key European markets as a streamlined, powerful, and independent full-service videogames distribution and publishing business."